Depending on your threshold for terror, you probably reacted to episode 5, The Bent-Neck Lady, with a mix of horror, unease, and sadness.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! So, if you don't know about the Bent-Neck Lady, you're about to.

In the episode, we follow Nell Crain from her childhood in Hill House to her adult life, where she is still trying to deal with the trauma and sleep disorder she developed as a kid, thanks to the Bent-Neck Lady.

The Bent-Neck Lady was an apparition she encountered in Hill House who would often appear standing at the foot of Nell's bed or hovering above her where she lay.

Picture:
Netflix/The Haunting of Hill House/Screenshot

Fast forward to Nell's untimely death and we see her falling through time, back to moments in her life where she was most traumatised by the Bent-Neck Lady.

Only, now we realise that the ghostly figure wasn't just a random Hill House ghost. No, NELL was the Bent-Neck Lady the whole time. Nell. Was. Haunting. Herself.

The conclusion to this episode was a perfectly executed twist and fans are definitely shaken at the reveal.

Did anyone else have nightmares about the "Bent Neck Lady" last night? Seriously I don't know if I can sleep anymore with the lights off. #Review coming your way tomorrow for #TheHautingOfHillHouse on @netflix 👻🌄🏡

The Bent-Neck Lady episode leans on so many different emotional touch points, including grief, anxiety, and shock. The unexpected dread you feel watching Nell fall through to different moments of her life is so unusual and jarring, even in a series full of unusual and jarring moments.

People have clearly reacted strongly to this particular episode, as well as director Mike Flanagan's ability to deliver this pitch perfect horror story. We're torn between wanting more Bent-Neck Lady-esque twists in a potential season 2 and not wanting to think about her for a very long time.

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